Scottie Scheffler rivals can take heart from Justin Thomas tale in US PGA finale
A superb third round of 65 gave Scheffler a three-shot lead over Sweden’s Alex Noren.
Justin Thomas may have missed the cut in the 107th US PGA Championship, but the two-time winner still offered hope to anyone aiming to deny Scottie Scheffler at Quail Hollow.
A superb third round of 65 gave Scheffler a three-shot lead over Sweden’s Alex Noren in pursuit of his third major title, the world number one having won the Masters in 2022 and 2024.
Scheffler converted the 54-hole lead at Augusta National on both occasions and has gone on to win on each of the last five times he has been in such a position, most recently when cruising to an eight-shot win in the CJ Cup Byron Nelson on his last start.
Thirteen of the last 14 winners of the US PGA Championship were also either leading or within two strokes of the lead entering the final round, which is where Thomas comes in.
Thomas was seven shots off the lead entering the final round at Southern Hills in 2022, but carded a closing 67 – his third of the week – before beating Will Zalatoris in a three-hole play-off.
Chile’s Mito Pereira held a one-shot lead with one hole to play, but found water off the tee on the 18th and ran up a double-bogey six to miss out on the play-off.
Water is also very much in play on the closing stretch at Quail Hollow, where the par-four 16th, par-three 17th and par-four 18th are collectively known as ‘The Green Mile’ and form one of the toughest finishes on the PGA Tour.
Not that Scheffler seemed to notice in round three as he followed a par on the 16th with birdies on the last two holes to separate himself from the chasing pack, although Noren navigated the last three holes in identical fashion.
The 42-year-old former Ryder Cup winner’s performance is remarkable given that it is just his second tournament since October due to a hamstring injury, a tie for 51st in last week’s Truist Championship offering few indications that he would be challenging for a first major title in his 40th attempt.
Noren would join 2016 Open champion Henrik Stenson as the only male Swedish players to have won a major, an achievement which would end a streak of nine straight American winners of the US PGA.
However, with Scheffler leading and Davis Riley and JT Poston lurking a shot behind Noren, the odds favoured American dominance extending to a decade.
